Trials of Hope
by genesis's scion
Summary: The Sentinels and the Mutant army of Apocalypse are marching across the planet. The X-men and other heroes of Marvel have been devastated and must regroup to fight the greatest and most horrific war to be waged across the Planet.
1. Chapter 1

Trials of Hope  
  
By Slim2000 aka David Lewis  
  
And Sguthrie16 aka  
  
The Sentinels have risen up to 'save' America from Mutantkind. Their rallying points the bodies of Robert Kelly and Graydon Creed. The story begins three days after the X-mansion is destroyed. Xavier is dead, along with Iceman, Polaris, Emma Frost, Thunderbird, Reyes, Bishop, and Angel. Not even non-mutant superheroes are safe Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Women, Thing, Iron Man, Cap America, and Hulk are among the bodies heaped onto the Sentinels' funeral pyres.  
To make matters worse Apocalypse has gathered together an alliance of Mutant Nationals to counter the threat of the Sentinels.  
In this world the remaining X-men, Magneto, the Human Torch, and Doom try to save the world and the Dream.  
Resistance Roster:  
Cyclops, Magneto, Psylocke, Storm, Phoenix, Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Havok, Shadow Cat, Human Torch, Doom, Beast, and Nightcrawler.  
  
Katherine Pryde winced as she rendered herself intangible and escaped from the pinning grasp of the chunk of asphalt that had suddenly fallen upon her in the abandoned parking garage beneath Manhattan. Here she was, with the uncanny ability to phase her molecules through those of any other object, and she hadn't been able to react fast enough to protect her leg from the falling debris. She drags herself over to the far wall, away from the gaping opening above her head where the ceiling had inexplicably caved in. More than likely it was a result of one of the dozens of destructive culling that had occurred above the city streets. But at the moment, Shadowcat had much greater things to worry about, such as the unknown status of her three teammates who, until a few moments ago, had been battling four Sentinels above ground. But for the moment, the Human Torch, Gambit, and Rogue were unaccounted for, and Kitty decided that the best thing at the moment to do would be to continue  
her mission and hope that her comrades were faring better on the surface. Hours before, the small resistance band had received a distress beacon from this exact area. The transmission was too filled with static to allow the X-Men to tell with any certainty who needed their help, but at any rate they could not leave fellow mutants in New York City, which had become one of the most dangerous locations in the entire United States. Gingerly, she crawled and then hobbled past demolished vehicles and cracked support beams, using her tracing beacon to locate the source of the original transmission. Amazingly the device was still intact, and according to its internal compass, it appeared as if the call had come from just a hundred yards north of her position. She continued her painful descent through the moonlit catacombs for one minute, two, then three, until she froze, hearing a tiny noise from behind her. She slowly turned, directing her vision in the general vicinity in which  
she had heard the sound, but it didn't look like anything had changed. She saw just a beat-up Ford Explorer and an overturned Volkswagen Beetle. She tiptoed forward again, noticing a thin shaft of light coming from just ahead of her. When she reached the other wall, she ran her fingers slowly over their cool metallic surface, until she felt a grooved panel that, she mused, was her ticket into whatever room contained the light source. Suddenly she screamed in agony, scraping her nails against the door as her nervous system was temporarily disabled. She found herself unable to either move or phase, and could only make out a shadowy figure leaning toward her before her entire world went black.  
Meanwhile, over San Francisco, California, a lone man descended over the massive wreckage of what had once been one of America's finest cities. The proud bridge was in ruins, leaving stubs of twisted iron and steel on either side of the water and dozens of pieces of floating debris. Magneto was not pleased. He could not honestly say that he had not foreseen such catastrophic events, nor could he dismiss them as simply another of a long line of tragedies wrought upon the world by humanity's fear. That was why he had chosen to band with the few remaining "heroes" including Xavier's students, who months before he would consider gutting before protecting them from the onslaught of the Sentinels. Surrounded by his electromagnetic force bubble, he touched down next to the smoldering mess that was left of one of X-Force's safe houses, where they had supposedly been staying during the Sentinels' attack on California. He did not expect to find anyone living among the crumbled stone,  
but Cyclops had been quite adamant about locating any and all possible allies. Dusk was descending, and thin rays of vermilion light dazzled him as they sunk below the horizon. In another time and place, he might had been moved, but after the death of much of his family and the endless crimes committed against his race, he had grown cold towards any of nature's offerings of feeble beauty. Instead, he diverted his gaze back to the base, using his magnetic powers to levitate various pieces of furniture, crates, and what had been the metal framework of the building. Startled, he noticed a small opening out of the corner of his eye that seemed to lead below the surface. He removed all that was blocking the entrance and then lowered his self into the shaft. The air was musty and filled with an acrid odor he couldn't quite identify. A few lights sparked on and off sporadically, affording him only a partial view of his surroundings, but he was able to see enough to locate X-Force's  
former ready room. The roughly domed chamber was a disaster area. Once complex machinery was strewn in heaps on the cement flooring, and several other small shafts of light were visible above his head, giving way to the ravaged landscape above. He took in his breath sharply as he saw a small slender hand jutting from beneath a gargantuan computer console, gray and covered in dust. He raised the apparatus with his mutant ability, and almost immediately wished he hadn't. There, crushed and battered, lied the bodies of both Tabitha Smith, once called Meltdown, and Bedlam, Jesse Aaronsen. His anger seethed at finding these youths shot down in their prime, and his wrath was fueled even more as he subsequently found the corpses of James Proudstar and Domino, who were apparently shot through the heart where they had sat at a small table in a corner of the room. He lowered his helmeted head, once again dejected, until he heard a low groan coming from an adjoining room. He quickly  
ran through the broken wall nearest him, and gasped in astonishment as he saw the trembling body of Sam Guthrie as he pulled himself from beneath a bed frame. "Cannonball!" Magneto exclaimed, as he swiftly threw the bed off one of his former charges. He was honestly relieved to see this ex-New Mutant still alive. He had parted from the team under not exactly desirable circumstances, but he was nonetheless happy to discover the Sentinels had not been entirely thorough in their elimination of X-Force. "Mag--Magneto?" Sam stuttered as he struggled to stand. Magneto grasped him by the shoulders as he nearly fell to the ground. "What are--how did? Wait--if you're comin' to recruit me into some sort of newfangled version of Acolytes--" "At another time, I may have considered that, child, but you may be surprised that I am currently residing with your X-Men associates." Sam looked skeptical. "And so they chose you to send for us? Doubtful." "I realize that I might not sound  
completely convincing, but right now I am your only hope, so I suggest you work with me rather than engaging in a superhuman battle that will more than likely attract the attention of another battalion of robotic mutant hunters," Magnus replied, his tone rather sarcastic. "Well, come on then, we have to regroup with the rest of the team and--" "They're gone, Sam." Cannonball stared at him, unbelieving. "What? It couldn't--no, I won't believe it! Tab? Tabby?" He stumbled from the room, tripping over an overturned chair, and ended up facing his dead girlfriend. "No... NO!" Cannonball's body was choked with sobs, but soon they were overtaken by another louder sound, a sort of persistent hum. Repulsor jets. Sentinels. "Sam, we have to get out of here now!" he ordered. "But... Tabby..." "We are leaving now and--" Above them, chaos reigned as the remains of the ceiling were shot to pieces...  
To be continued! Well what do you think? Come on people, post more stuff!  
  
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San Francisco-  
Magneto and Sam Guthrie looked up at the metal face of the Sentinel, "Halt and surrender mutants." Before either the Sentinel or Magneto could act a blast ripped through the Sentinel's chest. Magneto had taken apart enough Sentinels to know the blast had destroyed the link between the main computer and generator. Magneto sensed another metallic presence. A hovercraft appeared over the hole in the ceiling, a figure with a huge gun stood in the open door of the craft.  
"Cable."  
"Happy to see you Sam and surprised to see you Magneto. Sam gather the team and prepare blow this joint."  
Sam lowers his head in sadness. "I am the team now."  
Cable lowers his head and sheds a tear from his organic eye. "Get on board and let's get out of here." Magneto and Cannonball fly into the craft and Cable closes the door.  
"Hello Sam I am glad you're alive." Sam looks at the figure standing in the cockpit and recognized one of X-Force's founding members Roberto DaCosta aka Sunspot.  
"Roberto what are you doing here?"  
"Selene was killed by Nemesis and Blackheart has abandoned the Club I am free and decided to help Cable find you guys."  
"Where are we headed Cable?" "A place I have been preparing for this eventuality."  
New York City-  
Kate opened her eyes. She was lying on a bed too hard for her taste, but then again she was glad to be waking up. The room was dimly lit and she could only make out four figures standing in the room. "Are you alright? Sorry we had to stun you it was unfortunity."  
"I am fine." Her eyes finally adjusted to the light. The person talking to her was Exodus. "What are you doing here?" She jumped to her feet and was surprised by the lack of pain in her leg.  
"We called you." She scanned the others. Directly behind Exodus was the man called Spiderman hanging from the ceiling. To her right was a less inspiring figure, Toad, however he had changed since she last saw him he was showing years that made him an X-veteran. To her left was a total unknown, he wore only a t-shirt and jeans, and his physical features were only unique in their blandness. He had no unique facial features and a regular tone body.  
"Who are you?" Kate asked the man.  
"Call me Donald. I like Exodus and Toad am a disciple of Magneto."  
"Why did you bring me here?"  
"We are trying to hook up with the X-men. Let's go find your friends."  
Washington  
It was once a place where freedom irradiated. Now it is the center of the Sentinel's power base.  
The room is brightly lit. At the table was a group of men and women which formed the Committee For a Pure Humanity.  
"Chairman Gyrich, our efforts to relocate the pure humans is proceeding effectively."  
"What are the results from our invasion of Canada, Mexico, and Cuba?"  
"Cuba is still resisting."  
"Throw everything we got at them."  
Havana, Cuba-  
It was the capital of a totalitarian regime now it is one of the last bastions of coexistence in the America's. Upon hearing that both X-mansion had been destroyed and that the Cuban Government was going to align with the Sentinels a pro-X coup overthrew the government alongside the military.  
Cyclops looked over sea wondering if the Dream was really...dead. The x-mansion had been totally destroyed with a number of his friends killed and his teacher killed. When he found out had bad things had really gotten. Most of the Avengers dead, half of GenX, the Fantastic Four ruined; and worse of all no one present knew the fate of Franklin Richards.  
"Scott."  
"What is it Alex?"  
"I just got the exact numbers from Banshee of GenX members dead and counted for."  
"Tell me."  
"Jubilee, Skin, and Husk are dead. M was injured and evacuated. Penance, Chamber, and Banshee are alive and well."  
"Make sure Logan gets the news when he returns from Japan."  
"Alright." Havok walked away.  
"Xavier, please forgive us."  
Tokyo-  
It was the first city to fall to Apocalypse. To the mutant called Phantazia it was a beautiful site. Apocalypse had rescued her from the Sentinels and transported her to the Asian continent to carve out a Mutant Utopia. And this was his capital. She didn't know why Stryfe had chosen her to deliver the report but she followed his orders.  
She touched down at Spiral balcony and entered the Thrown room of the High Lord. Apocalypse was standing over table on it was a man. "Sinister can you do as I asked?"  
"It will not be difficult." Phantazia approached to recognized the man it was Jamie Madrox.  
"Good he will make an excellent addition to my army in fact he will provide me with one."  
To be continued...  
  
"Chere, I tink the cards are definitely stacked against us!" Remy LeBeau exclaimed as he leaped backwards to avoid the crashing fist of one of three remaining Sentinels. Above him, Rogue and Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, were doing their best just to evade the robots' deadly eye beams and force beams released from their fingertips. "That's an understatement, Sugah," the X-Men's Southern belle responded, just barely making it past one of the Sentinels' outstretched hands. "These tin cans sure do know how to throw a barbeque though," Johnny yelled over the din of the fight. He threw a few streams of flame in between dodging and managed to disrupt the nearest Sentinel's optical sensors. "Rogue, give me a hand here!" "Ah'm on it!" She flew around the back of the Sentinel's neck and pulled, using every ounce of her superior strength to remove the drone's head from its shoulders. Steel coils and servomotors whined in protest as the connections eventually gave way, and the  
Sentinel landed in a twitching heap across the city street. That made the numbers shift in the X-Men's favor considerably. But then Rogue looked down and saw a Sentinel put Remy in its sights and the Cajun was backed against a wall. "NO!" she screamed and gave the second Sentinel's head a vicious uppercut that sent it stumbling into a Laundromat. "Thanks for the save! But now Gambit's gonna show this junk pile what true kinetic energy is! Give me a fastball special. She dove down, lifting Gambit swiftly in her arms, and then through him at the Sentinel's head. Remy grasped hold of the robot's cranium, charged it with his signature form of energy, and then leapt off, sliding on a damaged lamppost. The Sentinel's head exploded in a fiery blaze, leaving one opponent. Unfortunately, as the pair of star-crossed lovers turned around they discovered the Human Torch, now powered down, his body bent a bit awkwardly on a pile of rubble. Rogue flew quickly to his aid, but was downed by  
an unexpected shot of asphyxiating gas. Gambit knew it wouldn't kill her, but she'd definitely be down for the count for the time being. "Target Identified: Omega-level threat, mutant designate Remy LeBeau. Adapting systems to compensate for kinetic energy surges." "Oh great," Remy muttered under his breath, as he threw half dozen playing cards that exploded on the Sentinel's armored chest, but to no effect. "Looks like this Cajun boy's gonna be headin' to the great beyond a bit sooner than he might've wanted." He shielded his eyes and prepared for the worst, but he opened them just as quickly as he heard a shriek of tearing metal. Floating in the gap between the robot's torso and legs, was the telekinetically powered Exodus, along with an average looking man he didn't recognize, Toad, Kitty, and of all people, Spider Man! "Well ain't this an interesting party!" "Enough of the banter, LeBeau," Exodus cut him off. "We're the ones who sent the signal, and now that your  
associate Shadowcat has found us, I suggest we get you and your friends to safety quickly and then we will locate our lord Magneto."  
Elisabeth Braddock, self-proclaimed action junkie was not enjoying this. She was a master of numerous martial arts, had mystical powers whose extents she had yet been able to explore thanks to her exposure to the Crimson Dawn, and immense psionic powers, especially due to her rediscovered telepathy which allowed her to generate her trademarked psychic knife. But now, in the alleys of London, she thought that the wars were getting old. She had, a few weeks before, witnessed the death of the only two individuals, besides her brother, that she could ever truly say she loved. Warren Worthington had seemed perfect to her when she first met him. All his conflicting emotions, his huge wings, his huge fortune, his unpredictable dark side... all had lead them to him and together they formed a sort of alliance from their similar experiences. Both had been altered into forms they would never have imagined, and rested in the safety of each other, but time had passed. With the regaining  
of his original wings, Warren became different, she mused. She wasn't sure how he was different, but something in him, or maybe it was in her, had changed. They drifted apart and she knew it was inevitable. But she hadn't expected to fall for Neal Sharra quite so quickly. There romance was brief, but in the short months she knew him, the two had become so close, almost more than the bond Scott and Jean shared. But any dreams of being Mrs. Worthington or Mrs. Sharra had been shattered by the Sentinels' attack on the X-Mansion. All the smoking corpses had turned her off to the violence, but she had no choice but to join with her friends once again, as a small part of the last hope the mutant race, and probably the world, had of survival. At this moment, however, she had more important things to worry about. Her contact was supposed to meet her in this precise location, under the shadow of the Tower of London, fifteen minutes ago, and she considered the man to be extremely  
time-conscientious. One would have to be in order to be the former Black King of the Hellfire Club. Her muscles stiffened as she felt a vague presence hovering above her. Not a Sentinel--it was a mutant signature, but not the one she had expected. Her unknown assailant dived down at her, but she was prepared and threw up an agile kick. Unfortunately, the attacker was heavier than she had expected, and she fell off balance. There, before her, towered the horseman of Apocalypse that had once been called Caliban, but was now known only as Pestilence. Silent, the hulking ex-X-Forcer reached for her with one of his meaty hands, which Betsy promptly sliced open with a set of ninja stars she produced from a pouch on her belt. He bellowed in rage, but Psylocke took the opportunity to flip onto Pestilence's shoulders and fry his brain with her mental powers. He collapsed into a row of trashcans, unable to get up. CLICK. Psylocke turned slowly, and found she was facing down the  
barrels of multiple high-powered futuristic weapons. The man wielding them had a face that was a sickly green-gray, scarred multiple times and with a bionic eye that glowed yellow. She recognized him as Gauntlet, one of the original Riders of the Storm. "All right, lady, we've got you cornered. My powers allow me to be protected from psychic assaults, and I don't think you can pull another ninja stunt before I riddle you with holes, so you'd best come willingly. You are wanted as a servant of the greatest leader this world has seen for all millennia, En Sabah Nur, the Apocalypse!" She had no choice but to comply for the time being, considering that his argument was completely logical. "AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!" Fortunately for her, she had back up. Gauntlet was down for the count, hit by a powerful electrical blast. She glanced up to the rooftop and saw the imposing figures of four individuals she could all identify. Sebastian Shaw, her brother, Captain Britain, Allira  
Steed, once the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club's London branch, and Bolt, the former New Warrior that had produced the electricity. "Sister," Brian called down to her. "We have to talk."  
Meanwhile, in the less-than-spacious war room the Summers brothers were afforded in Havana, Cuba, Cyclops was staring intently at the view screens that gave him access to the entire government's camera systems. He was amazed that the previous regime had installed so many surveillance devices, even going so far as to put them in normal households, but now it served to benefit the Resistance, as he could detect the coming of either a Sentinel strike or any of Apocalypse's forces which were gathering in Japan. Alex was out, patrolling the grounds, but Scott knew it was more to mourn over the loss of Lorna, one of the first casualties of this genetic war. How he missed his own love, Jean, several continents away, but he knew she was where they needed her, for the time being. She, along with Hank and Dr. Doom, had formed a base in the Arctic Circle, from which they operated using a modified version of Cerebro in order to locate other mutants that they could possibly enlist in  
their cause to protect humanity from itself and save their mutant brethren. Suddenly, an alarm went off overhead, and a transmission was beamed to him in holograph. "Commander Summers, it's Scanner! I'm here on the coast of the city, and we've got seventy-two unidentified blips coming in from the north. My guess is it's a pre-emptive strike from the Human Council to gauge the amount of firepower we have available." "You're probably right," Scott replied while preparing some of the automatic Shi'ar defenses the Resistance had installed. "They have thousands of Sentinels at their disposal, so why else would they send only a relatively small amount to attack the entire country?" "Granted, sir, but do you think we're ready for them? Oh my--NO! Oh no! I don't know how they've done it, but the Sentinels have suddenly appeared directly above us! They must have some sort of new teleportation abilities we weren't aware of. I'll try to bring up the shield here  
before--AAAAAAIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!*" "Scanner? SCANNER?!" Cyclops yelled into the now blank screen. The war for Cuba had begun.  
To be continued...  
--SGuthrie19  
  
Over the Amazon Rainforest-  
Cable and Cannonball were sitting in the back of the Hovercraft. Neither had said a word since Magneto had departed to Cuba when Cable told him he just some equipment both seemed to be mourning the lost of their friends. Sam decided to break the silence. "Cable where are we headed?"  
"Sam, very well we are almost there. A few years back I ran into a young mutant who had ability to access and use any power he encountered permanently. He was also a disciple of Magneto." Nodding in the direction he went. "However unlike most he believed that Magneto's way would lead to this day nor did he believe Xavier would be able to stop it. He decided the best choice was to secretly build an army and prepare. We are going to the place where he made this belief so that it can provide us with the direction we need." Cable let that stand and made it clear he would reveal no more. Eventually the hover pads died down and the craft set down. It was not the stronghold Sam had expected or wanted. It was an ancient temple evident by the amount of plants growing on it. What amazed Sam was the symbol on the front of the temple. It was two figures touching hands, one human and the other animal-like.  
"What is this place Cable?"  
"About six thousand years ago, a group of early mutants and humans forged an alliance and built this city. They were powerful but too few to prevent their destruction however they were the first people champion coexistence. Follow me."  
Sam followed him and Sunspot trailed. "Roberto can you brighten up this wall." Sunspot turned on a palm light. The wall showed a series of memorials. The first was clearly the people building their city than it showed Apocalypse emerging from the Celestial Ship. It was followed by an image of a Nazi concentration camp complete with swastika what amazed Cannonball is that is centered on a white haired boy. It was followed two Sentinels standing around a pile of bodies. Last was a dark figure with a sword emerging from the arm. On the ground before him were the bodies of Apocalypse and many others. "Sam, Roberto these pictures are as old as this temple. These things were foreseen so thoroughly that it is no mistaking what they saw. Worse of all they are dated to the year the last one and it is, is eight years away."  
New York-  
"Actually Exodus we will not be joining Lord Magneto yet. I have to pick something up first at my base," ordered Donald.  
"Very well Genesis. Toad and Spiderman, check on the others." Toad and Spiderman moved to checkout The Torch and Rogue.  
"Genesis I am afraid that the Torch is dead." Genesis hung his head in disdain. "Is Rogue alright?"  
"She will recover."  
"Very well let's leave." The area blurs and then refocuses. They are no longer in the wrecked city of New York but in a metal hall.  
"Never do that again Genesis."  
"Sorry but I didn't want to stay in New York any longer."  
"Where are we?" asked Gambit.  
"My Arctic base, and I believe those are your friends." Everyone turned toward the point Genesis was pointing toward; and saw Beast, Doom, and Jean Grey staring straight at them.  
Havana Cuba-  
Magneto arrived over the city of Havana and was not pleased. The area was filled with laser fire; thousands of Sentinels filled the sky strafing the X-men's base. Magneto dived into the battle blowing up three Sentinels with a thought. In the center of the battle Havok and Cyclops were battling back-to-back unleashing their full power on any Sentinel that dared to come into view. Storm, Chamber, and Banshee flew through the battle laying waste to any Sentinel that crossed their path. Magneto moved to join them. "Storm what is the plan?"  
"Prepare for the Blackbirds to take off the flyers will escort it out and prevent the Sentinels from targeting the ground troops." Magneto flew off to level a Sentinel that was taking a pop shot at Cyclops.  
On the other side of the battlefield Banshee took a hit from a sentinel and fell to the ground. Magneto could not do anything for him as he was engaged with a trio of Sentinels. However Chamber blasted his way through the horde of sentinels to grab Banshee before impact.  
A scream from the ground caught Magneto's attention. Cyclops beheaded a sentinel but Havok was kneeling on the ground burned. He then heard repulsor jets and saw the Blackbird emerge from the secret hangar. Cyclops pulled his brother in the plane. Havok's body was burned and his left hand was nothing but a stub. The sentinels pushed forward making Storm and Chamber retreat to the space right over the Blackbird. "Cyclops, Storm get out of here I will hold these machines."  
"How Magneto?"  
"A focused EMP charge."  
"I understand good luck," responded Cyclops. He knew what Magneto had in mind and knew it was the only way. He knew the blast would probable kill Magneto. But he knew his children Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were among the dead in Avengers headquarters. Perhaps he was tired of the war, perhaps he was tired of the death, but maybe perhaps he was just tired. As the jet buzzed off the runway Magneto unleashed the most powerful magnetic burst he ever unleashed in the space of 3 miles. The stress harmed him though. The power was too much and burned him out and he fell to the ground. His last conciliation was that the Sentinels were feeling no better and he had denied them the heads of the X-men.  
  
Marta Kauffman backed against the polished walls of the corridor and hid in one of the recessed doorways to an antechamber as a human guard passed by, wielding a high-powered assault rifle. Luckily, she remained unnoticed for the time being. A few years back, she wouldn't have thought twice about melting through the man's puny homo sapien brain, but at this point in her life, Strobe didn't have the time or the energy for this man's death. "Gill, are you in position?" she whispered into the tiny comlink she carried in the palm of her hand. "Almost, babe. Tamara and I will come down through the skylight like I said. I'll need you to take out the security cameras at the north and west entrances, and hopefully by then, Paradigm will have been able to interface with the security systems. If not, then we'll all be cooked. See you in five." "Over and out," she responded brusquely before easing out of the doorway and back down the hall. This was an extremely delicate operation, but  
she knew the Mutant Liberation Force was needed now more than ever to free America's and soon the world's mutant populace. She only hoped that the rest of the team would be as fortunate as her to get so far in such a heavily guarded installation. The newest, and now deceased leader of the Front had given them vast knowledge of the layout of numerous government buildings, and a load of extremely advanced technology to aid them in their cause. Gamesmaster had been a genius, an omnipath with a vision for greatness, but that hadn't stopped him from getting shot through the head by a Sentinel back in San Antonio a week earlier. Amazingly, the rest of the team had survived intact, and were now equipped with powerful cloaking devices that were able to mask their presence from the newest wave of Sentinels. Now, the stakes were higher than ever before, and if the Mutant Liberation Front failed, it could be the end... of everything.  
London.  
Elisabeth Braddock sat in what was left of a bombed out pub on the south side of the city, along with Brian and the others who, hours before had saved her from an ambush by Pestilence and Gauntlet, servants of the madman Apocalypse. "You were not wise to come here Betsy. The situation here in England is... precarious to say the least. Parliament is now split nearly in half on whether they should form an alliance with the Human Committee in the States to avoid a battle that could end up in our proud nation's destruction." "Which is one of the reasons why I ASKED her to come," Sebastian Shaw interjected. "I would have used the mental resources of my dear Ms. Steed," he said, gesturing to the striking figure in black leather across the table, "but her abilities only go so far as to psionically skin someone, and that isn't exactly what we had planned for a few select Parliament members." Betsy's eyes widened in shock. "What are you saying, Sebastian?" The once Black King smiled  
devilishly and replied, "Our plan," he began, "should be fairly obvious. I plan to use you in order to telepathically change the minds of some of the key proponents for allying with the States so that they will instead express utter distaste for it. The other remaining meeker members who had once been for the idea will lose steam, and hopefully in the interim, we will have a big enough European alliance of our own formed to beat back the Sentinel army they are constantly producing. I have agents in place that have already secured the governments of both Spain and Portugal, and others plans are well underway to gain control over Germany and France." "Despite your overwhelming confidence, Shaw, this plan sounds more than a bit far-fetched. My powers, over the past few years, have been unpredictable at best, and I cannot guarantee my influence will hold over them for any extended period of time. And even if I could, do you think what we're doing is wise? We are, in essence,  
promoting a full-scale intercontinental war! It could end up becoming World War III!" Chris Bradley, Bolt, also looked a bit skeptical. "She does have a point, Mr. Shaw. Are you planning on leading this alliance? And if you do, how do we know we can trust you in a position of such power, especially after your shady dealings for over a decade with the Hellfire Club!" "My boy, you overestimate my hunger for power. I am not the megalomaniac you might think. And while I may have certain... aspirations... I do not believe that my personal interests would outweigh my desire to protect the overall safety of this planet." He sounded genuine, but from the look she saw him exchange with his apparent romantic interest, London's Black Queen, she deduced that his motives might not be as altruistic as she claimed. "Brian, where do you weigh in on all this?" Captain Britain's expression was stony beneath his patriotic mask. "I wouldn't have considered this, but Shaw's plan of action is  
logical. We certainly can't sit idly by while the reign of tyranny of the Human Committee extends its grip across the world and eliminates the mutant population entirely." Psylocke sat silent for several moments, considering her options. But what options did she have now? After all, Cyclops had been in favor of the overthrow of the Cuban government, and she supposed that this scheme was no less risky or uncertain. She wasn't usually so indecisive, but... "All right. I'll do it."  
Aboard the Blackbird, Cyclops was numb. He stood beside his sobbing brother as Storm leaned over him and used some medical equipment the Beast had left on the ship to cauterize his wounds and seal the huge opening left where his left hand once was. Nightcrawler was piloting at the moment, with Penance and the now paraplegic M beside him. Chamber was hovering over Banshee on a makeshift cot as he slowly regained consciousness. He stared back at the remainder of the island of Cuba, the blackened wasteland slowly receding behind him. How much had they lost back there on that tiny island that had, for a short time been there home? Would they ever really have a place to call home from now on? He hoped so, but he was no longer certain about anything. Neophyte, one of his generals back on Cuba, came from the engine room to make a few repairs. "Scott, where are we going to go now?" "I don't think we have any choice but to go back to the Arctic now to recuperate. We certainly didn't  
accomplish much back there." "True... but if you don't mind my questioning your judgment, do you think that's wise? After all, we have no idea exactly what the Sentinels' capabilities are now after they exhibited that odd pseudo-teleportation ability we witnessed back in Havana." Cyclops grimaced. "I KNOW, Neophyte, I KNOW, but what other choice do we HAVE?" he snapped. The tension was getting to him, as it was to everyone else on the ship. The young ex-Acolyte retreated, a bit dejected, to join Chamber. He had been hard on him, he knew, but hurt feelings weren't exactly all that important to him anymore. Suddenly, Jonothon began holding his head in pain. "Something's... c-c-c-coming, I--NYARRRGH!!!" "Chamber, what is it?" Storm cried, rushing to his aid as he fell to his knees. "Something's disrupting my powers. Something big, and it's right above us." "But--how could it get that close without us knowing it?" Before anyone could respond, the roof of the Blackbird was peeled  
off like the top of a can of tuna and the rest of the ship broke into pieces, sending all the passengers falling across the sky. Chamber, recovering, quickly used his expanded telekinetic powers to keep him and the rest of the X-Men aloft, but it took some strain on his part. Scott's mouth went dry as he viewed a monstrous robotic construction that was bigger than a dozen Sentinels combined. "Surrender, mutants, or be terminated by the power of the Ultra-Sentinel!!!"  
Back in a classified government facility outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Strobe had managed to destroy all the cameras to allow her entry and that of her teammates into the main chamber. Her pulse raced as she readied herself to signal the others that they were clear. Everything had gone perfectly, but she had that awful feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had felt when they had been defeated by the X-Men when the Mutant Liberation Front's original leader Stryfe had attempted to take over the world. But now was not the time for worrying. She pulled the comlink close to her lips and said slowly and clearly, "MLF, we are ready to enter.... NOW." Quickly, she used her power to generate intense heat to melt through the heavy double doors on the room's north side and leapt in the opening she had created. The second door at the west shook; as it was struck multiple times before it gave way to the entrance of Unuscione, Forearm, and Random. Dragoness crashed through the  
ceiling on her metallic wings, Wildside clinging to her back. Paradigm, the techno-organic member of the team, materialized through the floor. "All right, Mega Man, do your stuff!" he ordered, and Paradigm injected his tendrils into the main computer console, locking down all the entrances with blast shields while absorbing the information the Front was after into his memory systems. The rest of the team fanned out, wreaking havoc on the rest of the machinery with Dragoness's flame blasts, the brute strength of Forearm, and Unuscione's psionic exoskeleton. That accomplished they rushed back to Paradigm who had finished downloading the files they were after. "All right team, we have the info we need to take out the Sentinel army for good. Now all we've gotta do is get out of here and sell it to the highest bidder. I'm sure the high and mighty Apocalypse or One-Eye and his X-Freaks would kill to get their hands on this stuff. Now let's jet." "Not quite yet, miscreants," a  
harsh, grating voice called out, and the group turned to view a distorted image of Henry Peter Gyrich on one of the cracked view screens. "Do you really think we would be unprepared for this type of espionage and intrusion? You are truly insulting our intelligence if you believe that. Prepare to die for your crimes against humanity!" With that, the screen went blank and Strobe felt the ground begin to quake as two-dozen Sentinels erupted from the floor, sending her sprawling. "Let's move people, we can make it--AAAAAHHHHH!!!" Wildside howled as a laser beam went straight through his chest. Unuscione toppled a few robots with her exoskeleton, and then powered down to check Richard Gill's vitals. "He's gone, team! This whole mission is lost!" "Not yet it isn't!" Dragoness called out as she grabbed Strobe and Random in both arm and letting Paradigm mount her back. Forearm was downed with another blast from behind, as a small canister hit the ground near Unuscione, spraying  
toxic gas. She brought up her shield again, but it was too late, and only served to hold in the poison that quickly asphyxiated her. Dragoness soared and spun past the killers' eye blasts, but lost Random who was shot from her grasp by a missile. She made it through the opening of the domed room and then zipped over the verdant forest below. Two Sentinels managed to escape the conflagration that Tamara left in her wake and their first blast removed Paradigm's legs and torso and Strobe was barely able to hold onto both him and Dragoness' talons. The trio of mutants dipped in closer to the ground but another shot sent Dragoness hurtling into a tree while Strobe clung to Paradigm and hit the ground with a thud. Her elbow was out of joint, but she kept running as fast as she could, stumbling through the tangled underbrush and, according to her global positioning system, out of the compound. She knew that they would send someone for her. The duo of Sentinels, she observed, were  
returning to their base, more than likely obtaining reinforcements. The money wasn't an issue now--she had to get those files to someone among the X-Men before she ended up like the rest of her team...  
To be continued...  
  
Tokyo, Japan  
Phantazia couldn't believe her fortune, since Strife had not come in person she was to sit in his place and he would be bound by anything she agreed to. Fortunately, Stryfe gave her a list of things he would agree to. The message was to be opened before Apocalypse and never before that. The room was circular and ended in a pointed roof; it was the pinnacle of the Spire. The room had four seats arrayed around a throne and directed toward it, each of the four seats a forty-five degree screen attached to one of the arms. Already in the room was Sinister, Nemesis, and the Dark Beast, the Ascended Lords. Apocalypse was not on the throne yet. "Am I late?"  
"No I am afraid the High Lord is late," said the Beast.  
"He is not really late he is just showing who's the boss," said Sinister.  
"Not to mention the fact he is not happy with Stryfe's disobedience and Sinister he is just reminding you who is the boss," said Nemesis.  
Phantazia took her seat and turned on her monitor. A map of the world was displayed to her. It showed the Americas firmly in the hands of the Sentinels. The few remaining nations in Western Europe and Northern Africa, and then Apocalypse's Empire, stretch from the German-Polish border to the Bering Straits from Siberia to Australia. She felt prided that she had helped over run the human nations that now knew the Glory of Apocalypse, particularly in the Western part. She glanced a peek at the Ascended Lords. They too were noticeably awed by what they had accomplished so quickly. She felt Pride to be in the company of such powerful men. The High Lord entered the room followed by two armored guards. Apocalypse sat at his throne.  
"We are here to discuss what shall next for our empire. Do we grow? Strengthen our holdings? Or do we launch diversionary attacks on our opponents?"  
"Our forces are numerous even China and Russia fell before our might as though they were nothing," Nemesis.  
"Yes but we were pushed back into the sea when we invaded Britain," Sinister.  
Phantazia decided to speak up, "when we invaded Britain our problem was not our forces but our strategy. We plowed right into their strongest defenses. Strife believes that we still have the forces, just we have to use them more efficiently." Neither Sinister or Nemesis were smiling but the High Lord so she thought that was worth it.  
"Nonetheless a more efficient use of troops would be taking Northern Africa. I believe it would give us a good platform to hit Western Europe." Sinister  
"I agree with Sinister." Nemesis  
"Agree." Phantazia and Beast.  
"Very well but afterwards I would like to develop our internal facilities. There would be no point in conquering this fine empire if our enemies annihilate its weak defenses. Sinister and Stryfe will hit Northern Africa, Beast will deploy to the Philippines to keep the machines guessing, and Nemesis will guard the Polish-German border."  
With that we all departed.  
The sky-  
Everyone stood still unable to react to the Sentinel. Chamber still quivered in pain. Cyclops was tempted to tear off his visor and let the Sentinel have it. He saw Storm charging a lighting bolt. Before either the Sentinel or Storm could act though the Sentinel started to shift. "Internal malfunction, components missing, unable to contact..." the sentinel turned into water and fell into the sea.  
Cyclops looked out across the sky and saw a man with red hair just gliding toward them he did not know who the man was but he knew he was the one who save their lives.  
"Need a lift?" He did not recognize the boy but he was about fourteen had red hair and a fairly muscular body he was also pretty handsome. He wore a tight jumpsuit that had only one marking four X's arrayed in a circle. Cyclops realized who it was.  
"How do you intend to help us?" The boy pulled out a device.  
"Tracker portal to HQ." The boy closed the device and a circular vortex opened behind him. "This is your ride to a soft landing want to come." He entered the vortex and disappeared. Chamber began fielding them in.  
Arctic Base-  
The level of technology had surprised Hank McCoy initially; and much of it was a clone of the X-men's. He was more surprised that it had been abandoned. But when he got underneath the terminals he discovered the technology was based on bio-organics. This was incredible advanced using organs or life forms as machines, since they wasted far less energy. What surprised Hank was that it had been abandoned, but Hank didn't really believe that.  
Now Hank knew whom the owner was.  
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Donald Essex. I believe I have more guests than I intended." He offered his hand to Hank, knew the others; Gambit, Rogue, Shadowcat, Exodus, Toad, and Spiderman.  
"Hank McCoy, so this is your base?"  
"Yes it is. Observe, computer identify Genesis."  
A computer screen flipped on. "Identity confirmed Donald Essex."  
"Thank you. Are you having trouble with this?"  
"We are trying to figure out how it works." Doom  
"Let's not bother with that now I have a number of refugees to take care of. Please let's head to the cafeteria." A door Beast hadn't noticed opened and Cyclops and a number of X-men followed a young man walked in he. Donald noticed them and shook his head in frustration.  
"Leave your door unlocked for one day and see what happens."  
"Genesis I have a list of dead and wounded from the X-men." the boy.  
"Give it to me later. Cyclops, may I ask where is Magneto?"  
"He unleashed a EMP blast on the Sentinel army I believe he is dead."  
"Genesis I am going to go find him." Exodus.  
"Very well. Take care." Exodus teleported out of the room to Havana.  
Hours later-  
Cable (who had just arrived), Cyclops, Genesis, and Beast sat in Genesis's war room. The only thing they discussed was how bad things had gotten.  
Her name was not important nor was her rank. Only her mission mattered. It was her job to place beacons on the Iberian coast prior to the Sentinels invasion. The beacons would allow there teleportation units to hit the beach without raising an alarm. She activated the last one and waited. The sky above her filled with Sentinels and all she could do was smile. The invasion of Europe had begun.  
to be continued...  
  
London was in a state of panic. The news of the Sentinels attack on Eurasia had arrived a couple of hours before, and the entire city's populace were quickly packing, getting ready to relocate to... where? At this point, there weren't many choices. Either one would have to side with the Committee for a Pure Humanity and trek to the states, or to stand under the iron thumb of the dictator Apocalypse. When the Sentinels made there move against Eastern Europe, which was less heavily fortified than the more established and wealthy nations in the West, they had originally not encountered much resistance. That is until they came face to face against Nemesis' mutant army. Chaos reigned in Germany, Poland and Greece, and Shaw had received word that his operatives there had perished. However, he did have a trump card in place, and hoped that she would prove herself worthy. But none of the rest of his companions knew of these dealings, and didn't need to for the time being. At this  
moment, Sebastian Shaw, Bolt, and Captain Britain were perched atop one of the tallest buildings in London's business district, prepared to respond to any call of distress from the two psychics who were beginning to implement the plan to sway the Parliament. The war in the east had been both beneficial and hazardous to their scheme, for although the delegates were still largely uncertain of whom to side with, they were considering more seriously joining someone. So they might have to improvise, but Shaw had enough faith in her to succeed. After all, Allira Steed knew what she was doing and would keep tabs on Psylocke in case she was to have second thoughts. Several blocks away, Elisabeth Braddock stealthily leapt from the roof of a neighboring house and clasped onto the vine-covered trellis running vertically against the side of Parliament member Willard Garrison's dark brick mansion. Hand over hand, she eased herself up the latticework until she reached a third story window  
and carefully removed her ninja sword from its sheath. Slowly, she carved a circle in the thick glass, and then removed it with her low-level telekinetic powers. Originally, she could have just flown up to the window, but Jean's and her power switch from several months back, long before the Sentinels began their attempts at global domination, had begun to fade and she was unsure if she'd be able to remain aloft for more than a few seconds. She stepped into the room of one of Mr. Garrison's sleeping servants, careful to mask her presence telepathically as she crept out the door and down the hall. According to the layouts of the mansion that Shaw had procured, Garrison's chambers were located one floor down, and she would have to crawl down a ventilation shaft in order to slip in unnoticed. Everything went according to plan for several minutes, and she kept in contact with Ms. Steed who was guiding her progress. After climbing down the shaft, she unscrewed the grate in the  
ceiling and dropped in, agile as a cat, onto the polished oak flooring. She tiptoed to his bedside and placed her fingertips on the man's wrinkled forehead and began to concentrate... until her back was ripped asunder by razor-sharp claws. She screamed in agony, falling forward onto Garrison's bed and waking him up. There, in half-shadow behind her, was Victor Creed, the murderous savage known as Sabretooth.  
Cannonball wasn't a big fan of waiting, but he didn't really have a choice. Cable had left for the X-Men's Arctic base over a day ago to discuss plans with the Resistance on their next move, so Sam and Sunspot were left to wait for his return with a load of supplies and weaponry to use to defend the temple as a sort of fortress haven for any other mutants who they recruited to their cause. "I'm... sorry about Tabby and the others Sam..." Sunspot whispered as the two sat it a moss-covered chamber at the center of the ancient stone building. "I know... forget it," Sam responded, the inner turmoil starting all over again at the mere mention of her name. "You know there was nothing you could have done for them." Sam knew Roberto was only trying to be sympathetic but his arguments were hollow and weak in the face of his grief. "I'm just glad to see that you're all right. I'm... sorry for abandoning you guys for the Club. It seemed like the only thing I could do..." His friend  
nodded, "I know, 'Berto. It's all right, and you don't need to tell me your reasoning--it must have been pretty important for you to make that decision. Besides, none of that really matters now that--" Sam was silenced by a sudden tremor followed by an ear-piercing alarm that went off seemingly from all around them. The previously normal stone quivered and transformed into a sort of alien material the two members of X-Force had never seen. Screens appeared on all sides, revealing various locations within the jungle. One set showed a familiar female whose body was entirely covered in flames. Magma was coming in their direction, riding on a save of fiery rock she was controlling. Two other monitors displayed another former New Mutant, Moonstar, who was currently tangling with a pair of modified Sentinels armed with adamantium blades implanted in their forearms to clear the overgrown brush, missile launchers and cannons which released poison-tipped darts. So far, Danielle  
seemed to be holding her own against her attackers, and was also en route to the temple from another direction. The third mutant was a total unknown. His head was completely shaved, his body muscular and clad in dark blue leather and a long gray trench coat. Single-handedly, he was demolishing Sentinels in one move, as a spear-like rod extended from under the palm of his hand and impaled the robots' metallic brain. "This must be some sort of mutant detection device similar to Cerebro, but according to these readouts, it's far more powerful and precise," Sam observed. "No time to check that out now--let's get out of here and lend them a hand!" Roberto advised his teammate. The pair took flight, Sunspot's body turning jet black with solar energy as they burst from a square opening directly above them in the roof. Below, the massive trees were falling and being set aflame all around their temple hideout, and Cannonball realized that they would have to destroy all the robots in  
order to ensure that this hideout would remain undetected. With his knowledge of the new waves of Sentinels that had been produced, this particular model was not equipped with any sort of transmitting beacon that would link it back to Master Mold, so if they managed to wipe them out, they should be in the clear. So, without a word, the pair of friends dove down into the carnage of battle once again.  
Back in the palatial residence of Willard Garrison, Psylocke's blood had run cold. Here was one of her worst enemies, a man that had beaten her nearly to the point of death, to where it had taken mysticism to release her from the clutches of death. "Hey, if it isn't one of my favorite X-chicks! Surprised to find you alive after our last run-in," Sabretooth goaded her. "A condition you won't share when I'm finished with you, you animal." "Wh-what's going on? Who are you people?" Garrison was quaking with fear and dread beneath his bed sheets after his rude awakening. "So Apocalypse has stooped so low as to add a unshaven Neanderthal to his ranks," Betsy insulted her opponent as she extended her psychic blade from the back of her hand. "My employers aren't nearly so benevolent as that relic," Creed replied, catching her off guard. Who was he working for then? If not the ruler of the East, and he certainly wasn't among the organized Resistance, then what were his motives for  
this attack. He lunged for her, and she quickly slid beneath his legs and kicked him in the back, only managing to make him stumble a few feet. She leapt back onto her feet and rammed her elbow into his gut as he turned around. But Victor proved to be faster than she had anticipated, and soon had her in a headlock, his claws less than an inch from her throat. "Now listen, and listen good, I want you to use your powers to put him back to sleep and then you're coming with me so we can help change the rest of the good people of Britain's mind to join the Human Committee." "What? You're betraying your whole race for THEM?" Psylocke gasped, incredulous. "Hey, Gyrich said he needed a few muties to serve as tracking Hounds, and I'm one of 'em, so you'll do as I say or we'll have a repeat of what happened a year or two back---GYAAARRRRHHH!!!" Creed bellowed as he held his head that appeared to be enveloped in mental flames. Behind him was Ms. Steed, using her power of psionic  
skinning to peel back the layers of his mind. "You're lucky I arrived when I did, Ms. Braddock, or you would have been lunch meat." "Grrr... no, I saved that for you," Sabretooth muttered as he surprised them both and whirled back, gutting the old Black Queen. She squealed in pain, tumbling and whacking her head on the pillared wall. "Now it's your turn, Psy-witch." But as he reached for her throat, his head suddenly erupted before her eyes, completely mutilated by a powerful shotgun blast. She turned to see Mr. Garrison, wielding a weapon he had hidden in a secret panel behind his bed. "Now, I'm not sure what's going on here, but i think it's safe to say that you're not the enemy. What do you want from me?" he demanded of her. Betsy turned to see Ms. Steed who was lying completely still and pale in the corner of the room, obviously dead. Sabretooth, on the other hand, would most likely recover in a manner of minutes due to his accelerated healing factor. "Mr. Garrison, I  
was sent by a group of resistance mutants to try to telepathically sway you to against siding with America's Human Committee so that the Sentinels would not take over Europe, though obviously I've failed my mission." "I wouldn't exactly say that," he responded tentatively. "Obviously your motives were a bit more ethical than those of our assassin here. I will side with your cause in Parliament, as long as you provide protection for me." "Agreed," she conceded, and readied herself to contact her brother and leave... 


	2. Chapter 2

Arctic base-  
Cyclops and Genesis were in the briefing room. The war room was far more spacious than war room the x-men had in Cuba but more closed in Cyclops felt. This was more from the fact that it was at least twenty feet underground and the area between the room and the above floor had a foot of armor protecting it. As a result they moved their meeting to the briefing room with its overlook of the ice sheets a far more pleasant image than the steel walls of the war room.  
Cyclops also felt he should be watching over his brother. Alex had lost the only women he ever loved and his hand in a few days. Physically he would recover but be maimed both from losing his hand and the burns he suffer across the left side of his body. Genesis had bionics that could replace the hand but he could not heal the scars.  
Genesis wasn't happy either. The news of Magneto's death had hurt the man deeply. He had revealed that it was him and Exodus who cared for Magneto during the days after his near death on Asteroid M. Genesis may have had a falling out but he still liked Magneto and did not want to believe he was dead, but Exodus had brought back the body ending all arguments.  
"Genesis how much of this can we swallow?"  
"I don't know it is like be caught between two incarnations of the Devil neither can win or should."  
"That is about as close approximation as you get. But is it possible they will cancel each other out."  
"If that happens no one will live to tell about it. Besides in that fight I think the genetic Nazis will beat the Tin-plated Nazis."  
"Probably. At least the reports from Spain indicate the Sentinels are not having fun. I would like to know where and how the Spanish government got laser cannons. Reports indicate they managed to take out 3/4 of the sentinels 'porting first wave units."  
"Oh I gave them the guns in return for passing certain mutant rights laws."  
"You what?"  
"I don't know whether Xavier's world of hand shakes is possible but I am pragmatist I gave them something I wanted they gave me something wanted."  
"And if they betrayed you?"  
"The cannons were programmed to self-destruct at remote."  
"What are your resources?"  
"This base and a few mutants I have contact with around the world."  
"Tell me about that Temple Cable mentioned before he left."  
"It is ancient city built by early mutants and humans who were supposedly destroyed by humans but I think the Big A was responsible. They also prophesized a number of things, which brings to a problem I have. Can you get Nightcrawler to contact Amanda Sefton also known as Magik?"  
Japan-  
Wolverine walked through the hulk of the ruined city of Nagasaki. Over fifty years earlier it had been nearly destroyed by an atomic bomb. Logan felt that fate was far better than the treatment at the hands of Apocalypse.  
He pasted the piles of dead that still littered the streets. They were children, men, and women. And the only reason they died was because they were human.  
Wolverine had not come to stop the cullings or the reason that Cyclops had been told. He was under the command of the mutant called Genesis. Genesis had asked him to meet his cell in Japan and then locate Sinister's main lab and drain the computer files.  
Logan found the destroyed frame of the restaurant he was to meet his contact at.  
"Logan is that you?" Behind Logan was another cloaked man who lowered his hood. It was his old 'friend' Maverick.  
"The sky is red in the state of Denmark."  
"And the sea is black in the state of Japan."  
"You're my contact?"  
"Guess so?" Wolverine smiled this was going to be fun.  
Volvograd, Russia-  
Reignfire glided over the terrorized humans. His troops had finished pacifying this town in the name of Apocalypse. Now he wondered what to do with these throwbacks. A brilliant solution struck him.  
"People of Volvograd I am an agent of your new ruler the High Lord Apocalypse. He wishes you no harm it is your own actions that force this abuse. To show your obedience he asks that you rebuild this city into something worthy of its place in the empire." Reignfire had no intention of sparing them. Not why not get some useful work first out of them. Besides the empire still needed the vast bulk of it's troops on the borders and he was being redeployed to Alexandria tomorrow. With no more to say he flew off to his base camp to pack. Another campaign and more grueling battles, but Reignfire couldn't help but feel this one would be different.  
Arctic Base-  
It had been a hour until Cyclops returned to the briefing room with Nightcrawler and Magik.  
"Magik my name is Donald and I have a question do you know what this is?" Genesis flipped on a view screen the picture displayed was the last mural in the hall of Prophecy at the temple the 'Sword arm' picture.  
"Yes I do it is the Soulreaver a weapon capable of destroying souls it is more powerful than anything you can imagine. It was the weapon of choice by a group of undead warriors called Wraiths they have not been seen in six thousand yrs." Genesis closed his eyes. "Only they could wield this weapon."  
"What were there powers?"  
"Eventually with each battle they got more powerful and if they died all they had to do was willfully return to the material plane. Only a Wraith could kill a Wraith. But most importantly you had to reanimate a dead warrior a certain way to get one."  
to be continued  
  
Rogue soared high above the once-peaceful islands of Hawaii, the last of the United States to hold out from the Committee for Pure Humanity mainly because of their physical isolation from the rest of the country. Hundreds of mutants over the past few weeks had crossed the sea by any means they could find, anxious to get away from the major cities of the western coast. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Portland had all been preliminary targets for the Sentinels' crusade.  
She would have loved to enjoy the peaceful tropical breezes that tossed her hair, but at this moment they were filled with the smoke of a city under siege by two sides. The Black Beast, growing a bit overzealous, had chosen the islands as another target for extension of his dark lord's rule at the same moment that the Committee sent another wave of Sentinels to invade and exterminate the surplus mutant population.  
While Magik detailed her knowledge of the Soulreaver to the others and the plan she had of obtaining one, Scott had sent Rogue, along with Spider-Man, Nightcrawler and Neophyte, along with a couple of inexperienced recruits, to get as many people out of the onslaught as they could before they had a bloodbath on their hands. Rogue decided, from the looks of things, that they were too late to prevent such an occurrence.  
Honolulu was engulfed in flames and entangled with a web of laser fire. Skyscrapers had been demolished and citizens who weren't trapped beneath the rubble were fleeing for their lives. She rushed down to support a falling overhang to allow the escape of a mother and two children, then rushed to help Genesis, adamant on joining them for this mission, who was the focus of many Sentinels' attacks. Using her speed and immense strength, she plowed through robot after robot, an unending technological massacre that wore her nerves and her stamina down quickly.  
Genesis' power-duplication abilities gave him the same options as his female associate, and he utilized Kurt's teleportation to evade the hunters' grasp more easily.  
Below, Nightcrawler was concentrating on leading the mutant refugees to a secluded location on the outskirts of the beach where Genesis planned to teleport them all back to the base. Neophyte helped him out, along with Teresa and Dave, the two recruits.  
Teresa was an elemental mutant, able to transmute her body into air and create powerful gusts of wind that could take the form of currents as powerful as miniature hurricanes. She used this mainly to push the Sentinels back from their intended prey, and into the rubble and few standing buildings.  
Dave, on the other hand, was an extremely physical combatant, relying on his physical strength as well as his power to release tiny needles from his skin that could disrupt a person's nervous system or the conduits and intricate circuitry within machines. All Neophyte could do was phase various fleeing mutants to protect them from falling debris and the missiles which poured endlessly into the city streets. "How's it going over there, Pincushion?"  
The Cuban mutant unleashed another barrage of needles at his next Sentinel opponent before responding in his thickly accented English, "Just fine, friend. But these poor drones don't seem to appreciate my pointy presents. They just keep shorting out when I deliver them!"  
Neophyte laughed in spite of the seriousness of this situation. Laughter was an extremely rare happening in this day and age, and Dave was one of the few mutants on the Resistance who had maintained a sense of humor.  
"You might want to hold onto something sturdy for a sec," Teresa advised the ground team. "I'm going to try something." Her body swiftly turned to a nearly transparent air form, her hazy molecules making her appear like a phantom. From her hands, a huge gust of air rushed past the heroes and encircled a group of a half-dozen Sentinels. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, but then her cyclonic tactics took effect and the robots lifted off the ground and she funneled them straight into the Pacific where their systems promptly shut down.  
"Yeah, keep it up, Terry!"  
In the skies above the others, Rogue shouted in alarm, seeing that Genesis was now surrounded by eight Sentinels, and he was barely able to dodge or deflect all their assaults. Suddenly, his hands burst into atomic flame and the killers were washed in the inferno that radiated from Essex's body.  
"Whoa, Donnie, ah didn't know you had THAT move in your repertoire!"  
Genesis looked just as astonished as he replied, "neither did I, Rogue. I didn't think any of our comrades had such mutant potential."  
"Then obviously you did not expect the appearance of your newest mutant savior," said an Asian voice from the east of them. The heroes turned to see a ravaged-looking Sunfire as he descended to join them. "Since I was unable to save my native Japan from the poisonous influence of Apocalypse and his regime, I felt it was necessary that I put my powers to a more fruitful use. Do you mind if I join you?"  
"Shiro, ya may be an arrogant pig sometimes, but ya do sure know how to make an entrance!" Rogue hollered.  
Genesis agreed, "We'd be extremely grateful to have your assistance."  
A noise distracted Rogue's attention as Genesis and Sunfire resumed their fight, and she zoomed in for a closer look. "Pincushion" Dave had just taken down another Sentinel, but he clearly didn't see the two that were coming from behind him.  
Just then, Spider Man, who had been conspicuously absent for the past few minutes, ran into the fray, yelling, "Dave, watch out--laser fire! Jump about ten feet to your left and back!"  
Accepting the advice one of the world's most well-known superheroes, Dave leapt back into the prescribed position, taking him out of the sights of the first Sentinel's path but directly beneath the second robot's boot, which stomped down on him, the tons of weight pressing him into the asphalt. The second Sentinel sparked and shuddered as the waves of Pincushion's energy invaded its systems and caused it to explode into hundreds of fiery pieces that littered the sidewalks below.  
"NO!" Rogue screamed and hurried to check on her teammate. She tossed the remainder of the destroyed Sentinel's metal repulsor boot away, and found Dave's body lying there, looking extremely bruised and battered, but amazingly, he appeared to be alive. She knew what must have happened--the split second before the foot landed on him, he must have covered his body in a cocoon of needles that protected him from the brunt of the impact. However, he clearly needed medical attention, and fast! Another building collapsed nearby and Rogue screamed, "Spider, toss a net of web to contain it!"  
"Can't!" he exclaimed. "Web-shooters are busted!"  
Busted? She thought that something was a bit odd about Spider Man's behavior in this battle. First, the order that sent Dave straight into the second Sentinel's path, and now his damaged shooters even though she didn't see him using them at all throughout the fight... It could all be coincidence, but Rogue was extremely concerned that something might not be what it appeared in this situation.  
But she couldn't worry about that now, she thought, as she rushed her injured friend to the pad where Donald would teleport them out of Hawaii. It would only be another two minutes, according to her watch, which was the time the team had delegated to get the majority of the escaping mutants out of the city. Afterwards, she would have a word with the Web-Slinger.  
The Amazon was alive with the screams of wild animals, and the unnatural clanking of the altered Sentinel robots that plowed through the rainforest in their attempts to defeat the five mutants that were arrayed around the ancient temple, remnant of the mutant-human civilization centuries past. Cannonball, his blasting field encompassing his entire body, flew like a burning rocket past the trees to get to his friends in time.  
Finally, he reached the clearing where Danielle Moonstar appeared to have been wounded, but was still on the move. She held her side, which contained an ugly gash and several broken ribs. "SAM!" she called out, relieved to see her teammate's arrival. "Thank goodness you're here!" She whipped her body around to blast another enemy with a plasma rifle, since her psionic powers were not of much use against non-living opponents. However, her rapport with the animal kingdom proved to be a bit more useful, as monkeys hurtled coconuts down, impeding the Sentinels' attack thanks to her mental commands.  
"What are you doing here, Dani?" Sam yelled over the raucous cries of birds which, startled from their nesting places, fluttered away in all directions.  
"I received a badly broken-up transmission from the Beast who said he was in the Arctic somewhere and that Cable had informed him of this location as a haven form mutants and that you and Roberto were supposedly guarding it. I'm glad his coordinates were correct!"  
Sam expanded his powers outward, refocusing them in ways he hadn't before and using his field as a sort of moveable battering ram which sent Sentinels sailing into the trees and knocking off their limbs. "I'm glad to see you too Dani... you don't know how glad," he said quietly as it appeared all the opponents in that area had been vanquished.  
"I heard what happened, Sam," she whispered, "and I just wanted to know that I care for you... more than I can say. We're two of just a few of our team left, you know." He brushed a tear from her eye as he felt another coming from his own. "According to our sources, Karma, Wolfsbane and Warlock were all casualties of Apocalypse's first attack on Japan. They had been reported M.I.A. for some time, but my reconnaissance mission there several weeks ago confirmed it. I just wish--" her voice stopped, choked with unreleased emotion.  
"You don't need to say it," he soothed, "I wish things were back the way they were too."  
"No, I wish I had told you about... this." She flung her arms around his shoulders and kissed him quickly before pulling away. "I was envious of what you and Tabitha had, you know. You always seemed so indefatigable... like you couldn't be affected by anything and were always there for the team, and for me."  
"Dani, I--" Another cry caught their attention several yards southwest of them. "We'll have to finish this later," he said, frustrated. She was silent as he held her aloft and the two soared off to reach their other friends.  
On the other side of the temple, the man known only as Javelin to his friends Moonstar and Magma, was having a rough time, even for him. The man was a nearly unbeatable combatant. Back when things were sane, he had been one of the world's leading martial artists and had been a successful stunt man in all the top action movies. He had trained with the best, even spending some time with the deadly and hard-to-catch Elektra for a few months. But, after all the wars breaking out, and the news that his mentor was gone, he had gone solo for a while. That hadn't lasted long, as his stubbornness and desire to be totally self-reliant had nearly got him killed by someone he had underestimated.  
Luckily, he was found, broken, on the side of the road by Magma. She hadn't asked any questions, said she was a lost soul as he was and the two immediately became the closest of confidants. There was nothing romantic between them, just pure loyalty, and that hadn't changed even when they hooked up with Moonstar weeks later. But now, despite all his training, his allies, he was in it alone against a seemingly endless supply of mutant-hunting drones.  
The "javelins" that came out of his forearms were made of a durable metallic-organic compound, and used most often to either strike his attackers like a bow staff, or as an impaling spear. Ducking under the machete blade of a Sentinel he threw his hand back, sending the javelin out of his body as a projectile, which punctured the robot's exterior, destroying it's most vital components before returning to its sheath in his arm. The next one went down just as quickly with a hard blow to the head, but he was really getting hemmed in, and he thought this might be the end of him.  
But then, he saw a black form streak down and take out a string of opponents with a single solar blast. Sunspot joined in the fray, introducing him self as he slammed another head into the side of the temple. "Hey, name's Sunspot, but you can call me Roberto."  
"Spot's fine, but you can stow the intro for now, kid. If you haven't noticed, things are a bit too tense for a welcoming tea party."  
Sunspot's usual anger flared up as he toasted more Sentinels before they could release their poison darts, and he muttered under his breath, "Sure, no problem, I'm glad you're so grateful for me saving your life and all that."  
"If you don't have something nice to say, get it off your chest and then shut up," Javelin screamed as he removed a Sentinel's torso off it's legs with a powerful side-swiping move.  
Roberto could tell that things wouldn't go well between the two of them, and wondered for a few seconds about Allison's and Dani's judgment for taking this guy in, but then again, he looked to be one of the fiercest fighters he'd ever seen, so he wouldn't complain any more for now.  
When the smoke, cleared, they noticed Sam and Dani running to join them, the former holding Magma in his arms. "IS SHE--?" Javelin began, his features taut with worry.  
"She'll be all right, she's just burnt out from expending too much energy. Let's get in the temple, recuperate and then we'll check out that new freakish computer system that turned on in there."  
"What system?" Dani asked inquisitively.  
"Better just wait `til we get in. In other words, I don't have a clue." The five mutants trudged slowly back through the beaten-down shrubbery, relieved that they had managed to defeat the squadron of Sentinels before any could escape and report its findings to any of its superiors.  
Or so they thought...  
Back at the Arctic base, Dave had been placed in an enhanced, bioorganic intensive care unit and seemed to remain stable for the time being. Genesis had retreated to his war room once again, to recount the day's events with Cyclops and Cable, and to discuss what they were going to do with the overflow of mutants they now had in the complex. Breeze, as Teresa now preferred to call her self, and Neophyte remained closely by Dave's side to monitor his progress, and things were silent in the huge main room.  
Rogue was seated on an incredibly comfortable couch made of materials she'd never seen, but she couldn't calm herself after the unsettling happenings in Honolulu. She looked up, and noticed Spider Man standing alone in a corner, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He then looked around for a moment, apparently not seeing Rogue, and entered a side chamber.  
Intrigued, and deciding this was the chance she needed to ask him some questions, Rogue followed him into the other room, jogging to catch up. She entered silently; creeping past a row of high shelves loaded with supplies, and peeked through to see what Spider Man was doing.  
He pulled a tiny metal device that looked like one of the "spider tracers" she'd heard he was fond of using, but it quickly expanded into a headset. "Yeah," he whispered into it. "I've got it under control... Yes... It won't be a problem. I've already obtained it... No, they don't know. I don't think anyone even has any doubts at this point... Right, I'll check on that. Later." Spider-Man terminated the connection and then stretched his arms over his head.  
Rogue stepped out from behind the shaft, and said, her tone accusatory, "You thought you could fool us, but you can't so easily mislead me, sugah. The broken web shooters, the call you just made, your posture. It's obvious who you really are."  
`Spider Man' edged back a few steps until `he' bumped against a desk, and then relaxed. "I can't say I'm surprised. After all, I should have expected that you'd be the one to get it eventually," the impostor replied as the red costume slowly disappeared to reveal a blue-skinned, white-clad form underneath.  
"Mystique. I knew it. What I don't know is why you're here, but you're gonna tell me, and you'll tell me now."  
"Just checking up on my baby girl, sweetheart. You don't think I'd let you fight hordes of bad guys all by yourself in this crazy world, did you?"  
"Can it, Raven. I'm not a fool--you're up to something, and you're working for someone. Why don't you just come clean so I don't have to resort to a little skin-to-skin contact," Rogue threatened, removing her glove.  
"Oh I don't think so," Mystique responded, pulling a small metal sphere from behind her, which she threw at Rogue. It quickly turned into a dozen constricting coils that enveloped Rogue's midsection and then sent an electrical shock through her body that knocked her into unconsciousness. "Sorry to leave so soon, but I have more errands to run." Her expression turned a bit regretful. "I just hope you'll understand some day that what I'm doing is in your best interests." At that, she activated her teleporting device and vanished into the portal...  
  
Arctic Base-  
Genesis had told Cyclops and Cable the details of the battle over Honolulu. However other pressing matter were still to be discussed.  
"The worst matter of it is that we are currently over capacity in this base every room except this one and med bay is being used and then some. This base was not meant to be a refugee camp but a command and control center for a global resistance movement. There is no getting around it we need a new base." Genesis.  
"I agree but where? Almost the entire world is world is ruled by one dictator or another." Cable.  
"How about the Savage Land? It is excluded can be defended rather easily and has a hospitable weather." Cyclops.  
"I like it." Genesis.  
"We will need a team to take the area." Cable.  
"I will leave that to you Cable. Genesis you will set up the defenses." Cyclops.  
"Cool." Genesis.  
"I like." Cable.  
Alexandria, Egypt-  
Phantazia sat the table where Stryfe's commanders gathered for the pre-campaign briefing. She had asked for and received a high-speed carrier to get to the briefing in time for the big push. There were four others around the table. They were Reignfire, Zero, Tyler Dayspring, and Locus. Stryfe then came into the room, the generals raised saluted and returned to their seats.  
"I will go over the battle plan only once. This will not be an open discussion because most of this comes from above. We will act as screen for Sinister's forces. Sinister will sweep into the mainland as we sweep across the ports in the Mediterranean ending at Morocco. Reignfire and Phantazia will cover our right flank the coast side. Tyler and Zero will cover our left flank the inland side. Locus will operate as a forward unit harassing and generally tormenting our opponents." Stryfe. With their orders the generals left to brief their subordinates.  
Japan-  
Wolverine and Maverick entered a dark room. Some flip on a light as soon as Maverick closed the door. Only two men stood in there both of them Wolverine knew. One was Julio Richter also known as Rictor. The other was the techno-organic being Warlock.  
"I heard you were dead Warlock."  
"I faked it I created a copy and allowed Apocalypse's forces to destroy it. And may I be the first to say welcome to the Resistance.  
Arctic Base-  
Genesis examined the medical readout of David Santiago's vitals the mutant known as Pincushion. The damage he had sustained should have killed him but apparently some still uncharted power had saved him. Genesis was glad the boy would live he still had the right to choose his destiny. Genesis thought about that for a moment in reality he was only a few years older than David. Perhaps the years had gotten to him more than he thought. Genesis left the med lab and headed to his quarters. Since it was his base he had been afforded the right to retain his private quarters on the lowest levels. They were suitable for single person who did not entertain others or had any desire to.  
Genesis knew only one person well on the base. But Exodus had withdrawn into mourning making it absolutely clear he did not want to be bothered his roommate Toad had told Genesis that Exodus had not said more than a few words mostly 'get out of my ways.'  
Genesis understood that and he probably would too, if not for the massive responsibility heaped onto his shoulders.  
Genesis had known this war was coming for a long time. Even before he approached Magneto. He had done some things which were at best border line evil, like bribing Parliament members to build up a pro-mutant lobby in England; murdering the CIA agent who trained him in infiltration; and running an extremely underground (and illegal) financial empire that paid for most of his facilities.  
Genesis was not worried though about how he would be remembered but that no one would have a chance to decide whether he was a cornered villain or a dark angel, either way it wasn't flattering though.  
Genesis turned off the lights and tried to sleep, he knew it would be a long time before he would get a good rest again.  
to be continued...  
  
Psylocke was a bit surprised when she had delivered Shaw the news of Allira Steed's death. She had originally believed that there must have been romantic relations between the two, but now, sitting in Shaw's study overlooking London, she wasn't sure of anything regarding the former Black King. He simply sat there, motionless for a while, and then looked up at her as if recognizing she was still present. "Elisabeth, it may come as a surprise to you, but I just received a telepathic call from Ms. Steed herself. It appears she is none the worse for wear, and was a bit angry that you had abandoned her in Mr. Garrison's residence." "But... that's im-impossible!" she stuttered. "I saw her go down when Sabretooth clawed at her! There's no way she could've survived such an ugly wound!" "Oh I wouldn't say it's impossible, Ms. Braddock. After all, I heard you survived a similar experience yourself." The flustered X-Woman slumped in her chair, at a loss for words. Shaw smiled a sort of  
all-knowing, condescending smile, and said "It's all right, I'm certainly not angry at you for following your instincts, especially considering that it paid off in getting Garrison to help sway the Parliament in our favor. According to my contact there, they're going to be voting on the matter in a few short hours, and for the sake of argument, I'd say that with our plans fully in motion, Britain will remain the free nation it always has been. Ms. Steed, however, was wounded, so I will be attending her for the time being." Behind Psylocke, the double-doors opened, revealing a pale and disheveled Black Queen. She clasped one arm over her belly, as if to mask her pain. "Shaw, I am not interrupting anything, am I?" "Oh no, not at all, my dear," he replied. "Our conversation is over." Sebastian gestured in the direction of the exit, and Psylocke left the two of them alone, behind closed doors. Something was definitely wrong, either with her own judgment or with Shaw's plan.  
Perhaps the whole scene in Garrison's bedroom was a setup. Maybe Ms. Steed had faked her own death. It was possible, but she was still a bit worried in spite of herself... and worrying was something Elisabeth Braddock didn't normally do...  
She had run for miles, for days, without rest and little food or water. Marta Kauffman collapsed in the shade of a huge pine tree, holding her head in her hands. She still couldn't get the memories out of her head--their voices and screams, her entire team downed one by one, leaving her to carry the entire burden of the mission on her shoulders. Paradigm had slowly been recovering, his techno-organic body constantly regenerating and recalibrating its systems. Even now, the external repairs were being completed, as his right leg expanded and became whole once more. The obvious thing to do would be to find refuge with someone, but whom could she trust? Who would let her in? She was no longer considering the original plan the Mutant Liberation Front had in the beginning. She didn't need to sell it--she needed to give it, free of charge, to someone trustworthy. But no one knew the location of the X-Men's hideout ever since the X-Mansion had been destroyed, and she didn't dare  
give such information to Apocalypse. Once she was no longer needed, she'd most likely be destroyed, and she wasn't too keen on any one group controlling the entire world. A twig snapped somewhere behind her, and Strobe jumped up, supporting her weight on the tree trunk nearest her. Paradigm also rose, but being unable to communicate verbally, she had no idea what readings he could be sensing. Suddenly, he leapt at her, shoving her to the ground as a huge blast of plasma cannon fire ripped over their heads. "They've found us. Blast, after all this time they've found us!" she groaned. Through the brush they came, a half dozen Prime Sentinels, left over from Operation Zero Tolerance's failed attempt to incarcerate the entire mutant population under the orders of the mysterious Bastion. "Surrender, Designate: Kauffman, Marta, also known as the mutant villain Strobe. You have in your possession top-secret government documents which have been stolen from a secure facility, and  
these units are here to confirm that you do not escape with such information." Strobe darted her eyes right and left, searching right and left for any way out, but found none. She bowed her head and decided that her best option would be to surrender. "Six-on-one isn't exactly fair, a voice called down from above their heads, and a blue and gold blur shot down from a low limb and kicked one of the cyborgs to the ground. He took out two more in a single wave of energy that surged from his hand. Another mutant, a sniper, took out the remaining Sentinels with some sort of odd weaponry and the pair joined Strobe and Paradigm on the ground. "Who are you people?" she asked, incredulous. "My name is Archer," her first savior informed her. "I'm part of the Resistance, and when Forge and I detected mutant signatures in this area, we decided to investigate. After all, we are the X-Men's scouts in this region." "The X-Men!" she cried, relieved, "You have to take me to them!" Archer  
extended his hand, but Forge interrupted. "Not so fast! How do we know you're not in the employ of Apocalypse or any of the other past leaders of your team? Don't think I don't recognize you, Strobe." The woman looked frantic. "I'm telling the truth! Please, you have to believe me! I need your assistance!" "Granted, but why on earth were you being chased, besides the fact that you are a mutant? The Sentinels mentioned something about government documents..." "Yes, I do have some documents. Well, actually, Paradigm has them. They're recorded in his memory systems." "But what sort of documents are they?" Archer required. "The entire plans of the various Sentinel models. We had discovered before we infiltrated the base where they were located, that there was rumored to be a weakness, a flaw in the design that could be exploited to destroy a Sentinel... from within."  
Back in London...  
The Parliament meeting was going reasonably smoothly. Despite a few detractors, Willard Garrison's proposal to bulk up the nation's defense and remain an autonomous entity for the time being were, for the most part, accepted. Psylocke observed Bolt, perched above on the rail of the balcony level. He was wearing equipment that would make him invisible and undetected to anyone present in the room, other than Elisabeth herself and the other members of their alliance. Brian was outside the building, keeping a watchful eye for any sort of attack from either Apocalypse's forces or a Sentinel battalion, and Shaw and Steed sat side by side several sections behind her, holding hands and the latter looking much more healthy than she had when Psylocke had last seen her. The Parliament was just beginning the final vote, when Elisabeth received a page on her communicator that connected her with the rest of the Resistance. She found it exceedingly odd that anyone would contact her now,  
considering her precarious position, which she had briefed Cyclops about a few days before, so it must be something fairly important. Quietly, she got up from her seat and walked out into the main hall outside the meeting chamber and opened the video-screen. Before her was the image of Remy LeBeau, the X-Man known as Gambit. "Hey, chere, Cyke left for a mission, but he wanted me to inform you of somethin' he thinks you need to know." "All right, tell me what it is, but hurry!" "What, the high Brit muckety-mucks finally makin' a decision? All right, I'll give you the abbreviated version, den. A day or so ago, we found Rogue unconscious in one of the supply rooms here at the base. When she finally came around, she said she had been surprised by Mystique, who was posing as Spider Man the whole time. Now evidently Genesis has some equipment that can monitor the use of any sort of mechanical device inside the premises, and he says dat he's picked up numerous teleportation  
transmissions en route between here and London. Just thought you might want to know that you may be havin' company." A spark of recognition lit up Betsy's face, and she responded quickly, "Um... thanks for the tip, Cajun. I'd really better run now, so catch ya later." "Cool, Betts. Later." The transmission ended and Psylocke considered what she'd just learned. It made perfect sense, she thought as she went over the past few days' events in her mind. Perhaps Ms. Steed isn't who she says she is, and my original judgment that she had died at the hands of Sabretooth was correct. I've got to warn Shaw, tell him that he might be in danger before--" A huge explosion rocked the Parliament building, sending the main pillared chamber crashing down around the delegates. Chunks of the ceiling rained down, and before she was able to erect a telekinetic shield, Psylocke was knocked out cold.  
  
Arctic Base-  
Chamber walked into the nearly empty Cafeteria. Cyclops had left with Storm, Phoenix, Banshee, and Nightcrawler to evacuated humans from Casablanca. Cable had left to pick up the X-Force holdouts in South America. The only people in the room were Genesis, Exodus, and Franklin.  
Genesis was wearing his custom easygoing outfits. But his face was masked by rage. He had been enraged when he found out the fast one Mystique had pulled on him in NYC. His rage was not helped by the fact that she had accessed the files regarding his governmental contacts throughout the world.  
Exodus had been hardly seen since Magneto's death. His face was unreadable but he was beyond a doubt mourning his personal savior's death.  
Franklin was drawn into him self that passed for normal in his case. His full name was Franklin Richards the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. He had saved the X-men from the Ultra-Sentinel. Later he revealed his identity. Unable to save his parents he was rescued by Genesis and brought to this base. Here he used his powers to forcefully age his body so that he could avenge his family.  
"Chamber sit," said Genesis.  
Chamber pulled a seat up. "I didn't think you would be willing to talk."  
"I got over my anger. I would like to know if you would like to be part of a hit and run mission today," said Genesis.  
"What's the target?"  
"Sentinel factory. Be at the briefing in two hours."  
  
Japan-  
Wolverine stood in front of the assembled mutants. There were only the three he had already met. He began to brief them on the mission.  
"This mission is to be quick and clean, then very loud and destructive. Our target is Sinister's main lab. He is currently not there or so our intelligence indicates. If he shows we abort, the last thing we need to do is the three of us pick a fight with Sinister and since I am saying that keep this in perspective. His lab is located on Kyushu so we won't have to go far.  
Maverick and I find the best approach in and enter. We pacify the area and Warlock enters. Warlock downloads the files we are after while I guard him and Maverick plants remote charges. Rictor if everything goes well you do nothing and get real bored if not you are back up so don't fall asleep. Any statements?"  
"Why blow the building?" asked Maverick.  
"It will distract them from our exfiltration and screw up Sinister's plans."  
"Not only that but it will force the public to acknowledge the challenged rule of Apocalypse's reign," continued Warlock.  
"Any more objection." Pause "No good let's scout this place."  
Tripoli-  
Phantazia's forces had beat Reignfire to the city. But the city's defenders were not giving in easily nor did she expect them to.  
Phantazia flew outside the battle directing her forces by radio. The mutant forces had already achieved air superiority and were now giving the human forces their just desserts. To be fair she had admit there had been a fair number of mutants who rose to battle them, but she put this down to those that still were more loyal to their nation then their race.  
"Alpha and Omega squads flank their defenses in the North and East quadrants. Delta squads sweep into the city and destroy any of the remaining artillery. Artillery mauls them." The flyers of Delta squad swept into the city taking out weapons that even appeared in their sights. The artillery under her command rained destruction into the heart of the city.  
"Epsilon and Theta squad shield the ground troops and help smash those defenses." Epsilon and Theta were the only other full flyer squads she had left, but they were crack units. They and the ground troops smash the defenses and began to enter the city. "Well done, well done." In an hour it was all over.  
Artic Base-  
Genesis stood over the grave of the man who taught him the greatest fundamental of his life: a dream worth living for was a dream worth fighting for, dying for.  
"Thank you Magneto you showed me the way now rest easy your burden has passed. I will see you when I see you."  
Casablanca, Morocco-  
Cyclops stood in front of the boat heading to America. To the humans of Casablanca, America would be a paradise to a mutant it was a death sentence.  
But soon the forces of Stryfe would fall upon this city and its human populace would be at their mercy no more than mutants to the Sentinels.  
He returned to help planning the defense of city that would undoubtedly fall; however every minute he bought would mean a few more humans would escape. He had to ask himself the question why did he bother? And then answer came because Xavier would.  
to be continued...  
  
Strobe and Paradigm relaxed in a low-flying, air-conditioned hovercraft that flew speedily over the Atlantic Coast. While Archer piloted the craft, Forge put his technological mutant gift to work in order to retrieve the slightly damaged files from Paradigm's systems that he had downloaded from the government facility in Pittsburgh. A woman that Marta Kauffman did not know sat across from her in the ship, flanked on either side by a very young teenager, one male, the other female. "So are you getting anything yet, Forge?" the boy asked. "Yeah, Forge, do you have anything that'll help us blow all those rent-a-robots to smithereens?" the girl prodded. "Patience, Joey, Gailyn. The files suffered a bit of damage when Paradigm was blown in half. I'm trying to get as accurate a reading as I can on the files, but it's tricky. Some sort of complex binary code that I can't begin to fathom encrypts many of them. Perhaps when we get to the Arctic Base, Shadowcat will be able to break  
through the barriers." Joey and Gailyn Grey sat back in their seats, only partly pacified. The children of Jean Grey's deceased sister Sara had met much tragedy in their lifetime, but still managed to keep a youthful enthusiasm that none of the others in the ship could match. A week ago, a squadron of Sentinels attacked the pair's grandparents' home in Annadale-on-Hudson, New York, destroying the entire house and killing their caregivers. Luckily, Archer and Forge had stepped in and managed to rescue them. Apparently their mutant signatures were just beginning to manifest, and no one had much of an idea as to what their powers would end up being. The mysterious woman called out to Strobe, "Are you all right, dear? Do you need some more food or water or anything?" Strobe gently massaged her ankle that had been badly burned in her escape and long hike. "Um, no, nothing, I'll be fine." Strobe was a bit confused, tortured by conflicting emotions. On one hand, she knew she was  
doing the right thing in giving the plans to the X-Men and perhaps finding a way to put a stop to this genocidal war. But on the other hand, she was aiding people who at one time were her worst enemies. Should she have sent the plans to Apocalypse instead? Her mind said yes, but her heart clearly told her no. Tentatively, she asked a question of the woman, "Um, Miss..." "Sage, she replied softly. Tessa Sage." "Miss Sage... Have you heard any news reports about what went down at the facility we broke into? Were there any survivors?" Tessa lowered her head sadly as she replied, "There was, perhaps is still one, but they were grievously injured and are being used solely to get information about your team, what they were after, mutant plans in general..." Strobe felt tears welling behind her eyes, but was too tough to show her grief. "Who... was it?" "Carmella Unuscione, former member of the Acolytes. Apparently, the Sentinels had used a sort of toxic, but non-fatal gas to put  
her out of commission. And then, since her psionic exoskeleton was still somehow functioning in spite of her comatose state, the Sentinels bludgeoned it until it failed, causing her to suffer severe mental backlash. The extent of her injuries are unknown, but at this point I doubt there's any way we could rescue her, at least until we find a way to get past the Sentinel army." Strobe nodded, conceding the point. Gailyn Grey got up from her seat, and moved next to Marta, smiling. "You know, you don't have to look so brave. When my grandparents died, when my momma was taken from us, I cried--I cried a lot. It's okay to do that." Strobe didn't know what to say, but finally gave way to the emotions that had left her raw over the past days, and she wept. "Forge, we've got a problem." "What's up?" Forge raced into the cockpit, closely followed by Sage and Joey. Gailyn stayed in the passenger hold, gripping Strobe's hand tightly. "Some unidentified craft is heading for us, making  
strafing runs. I'm not sure what his or her intentions are, but it seems hostile. And it's definitely not one of the Human Committee's aircraft." "See if you can patch through and talk to them." Archer toggled a few levers and adjusted the frequency, but wasn't able to come up with any sort of signal. "Nothing... In fact, they're jamming all our communications, incoming, or out." The hovercraft shook as explosions rocked its side, tearing up one of its wings and damaging its shielding capabilities. Archer thrust the controls to the right, attempting to evade the next run of the other fighter, but it was too quick, and managed to clip the other wing. "We're going down!" Forge screamed. "Everyone, strap in, now!" The craft rattled and shook, as if it were about to fall into pieces, but held as they descended quickly to a small sandbar below. Gailyn looked up at Strobe as she murmured, "It'll be all right, it'll be--" "PREPARE FOR IMPACT!!!" Forge screamed as they hit, knocking  
nearly everyone aboard unconscious. A minute or two later, Joey Grey stirred, trying to force himself free of the restraining belt and the limp body of Tessa Sage, who had wrapped herself around him tightly in an effort to protect him. He felt her neck, as his grandparents had always taught him to do in such an emergency, and gratefully discovered she was alive. He eventually unhooked himself, but the ship was on its side, and he fell across to the opposite wall, nearly landing on his sister, who was also beginning to move. "Gailyn, hurry... You've gotta wake up. C'mon..." She coughed, and then began to get up as well, "Joey, what happened?" "I don't have a clue, but we've gotta see who's out there and protect the others. Mr. Forge? Mr. Archer?" Nothing. However, the mechanical Paradigm was still functioning, and moved slowly toward them before wrapping his arms around each of them, and then thrusting them up through the cargo doors, which were now on the top of the  
hovercraft. The twins pulled themselves onto the ship's hull, and saw the opposing ship setting down about hundred or so yards away. The landing ramp touched down, and they, along with their new techno-organic friend, could see several figures exiting the vehicle. "Uh oh, I think we're in trouble!" Joey screamed as he shuffled back behind Paradigm. "Referencing mutant data--" "What? You can talk?" Gailyn asked, incredulous. "But Forge said--" "Mutant Forge had the technological abilities to restore and enhance previously damaged systems, therefore allowing me to communicate vocally, which I had been unable to do for years since I was injected with this techno-organic material. But my origin is not important. I detect eight mutant signatures altogether which are approaching rapidly. My database confirms their identities. All are known to my records: Calvin Rankin, the Mimic; Maria Callasantos, Feral; strangely enough, the X.U.E. officer known as Fixx; the Acolyte Senyaka; and  
agents of Sinister called Ramrod, Ruckus, Scalphunter, and Vertigo." "Sinister? That's the guy that messed with Uncle Scott and Aunt Jean for so many years!" Gailyn exclaimed. "This guy's going down," Joey warned, as a strange aura began to form around his body...  
Psylocke woke up, rose to her feet, and almost immediately wished she hadn't, as she felt pain pulsing through her left arm and her temples. He knew she probably had several cracked ribs, and was bleeding from multiple scrapes caused by the falling debris from the Parliament building. Gasping, she knelt down to catch her breath, as she finally grew accustomed to a faint voice that was repeating itself constantly. "Betsy? Betsy are you there? BETSY!" It was her brother, Brian, the masked defender known as Captain Britain. With her good arm, she managed to reach her communicator, which was unbelievably intact, and responded quickly, "I--I'm here, Brian. Are you all right?" "Yes, I'm fine," he answered her, a bit of fear and perhaps anger in his tone. "What happened?" "I would assume you would know better than I, brother, especially considering that you were on guard! Did an enemy aircraft manage to get through the defenses?" "Negative. The explosion must have been from a  
device that was already planted in the building and set to blow from a remote position. Have you checked on the others yet?" She pressed her fingertips against her forehead, but her telepathic powers were not entirely up to par, so she could not determine, with any certainty, who of their band had survived this onslaught. "Not yet, but I am going to try to get into the main chamber to see for myself." "I wouldn't advise that," Brian warned her. "From where I'm standing, it looks like what's left of the place could go at any minute. You need to get out of there!" "Look, we can't leave those people in there to die! I'm going after the others, with or without your help. Safety isn't an issue at this point." "Elisabeth, I command you to get out of there now! That's an order! Betsy? Betsy!" She shut off her communicator and stuffed it into one of several pouches on her belt. She didn't understand her brother's persistence, his lack of concern for their teammates. And at the  
moment, she didn't care. She just needed to get into the main room and locate Bolt, Shaw and Ms. Steed. Though she didn't imagine she'd actually find Steed. More than likely it would be Mystique, the double-crossing shapeshifter whose presence Gambit had informed her of only moments before. Stumbling over a fallen pillar, she leaned into one of the doorways, and was shocked at the sight. Dozens of pieces of the grand ceiling had collapsed, crushing whatever Parliament members were directly beneath them. Other pieces of the walls had toppled, crushing or trapping other victims of the blast. She worked her way carefully over the uneven flooring, struggling to get to the others. Sebastian Shaw would most likely have to be alive, she thought. With his ability to increase his strength rapidly from outside blows, he wouldn't have been severely injured from the explosion or the resulting damage. "Shaw? Shaw, are you there? Bolt??" she called out as she continued her searched. "Is  
anyone--there?" Below her, she found Chris Bradley, who was trapped under a metal support beam. "Chris? Can you hear me?" She stretched what was left of her telekinesis to its limits, straining to lift and toss away the beam and free her fallen comrade. Amazing herself, she managed to do so, and leaned down to check him. "Chris?" "Ps-Psylocke? What... what happened?" he finally responded, prompting a sigh of relief from Elisabeth. "The Parliament building's practically gone up in smoke. We need to find the others and then get out of here before the whole place collapses in on itself. Can you stand?" Bolt pulled himself to a sitting position, began to rise, and then screamed in pain. She could see the cause of his discomfort--shrapnel had embedded itself around his right knee, some of it piercing his leg all the way to the bone. "Just lean on me, kid, all right? I'll get you out of here as soon as--Shaw!" Sebastian Shaw hobbled towards them, carrying in his arms the corpse of  
Allira Steed. "She's gone for good now, Ms. Braddock... She's gone..." He looked bitter as he passed her, unwilling to say anymore. What could either Betsy or Chris say in response anyway? Besides, Psylocke was puzzled for the next minutes after she got Chris out and then helped evacuate others who were still alive among the debris. If Mystique had taken the place of Ms. Steed, she would have returned to her normal form in the event of her incapacitation or death. But Shaw said that Allira was dead, and Psylocke's powers confirmed both her status and her identity. But if that really was Allira Steed, she wondered, then how did she survive Sabretooth's attack? And then where was the real Mystique? She had no idea, and didn't know where she was start. But for now, Elisabeth Braddock continued to concentrate on the living, as she did for the next few hours, until all the living had been removed and the building finally fell in a cloud of rock and smoke.  
Sam Guthrie was bored again. Although he had enjoyed the new arrival of his friends, Moonstar, and Magma, and had tried to find out more both about the temple's alien technology and about their new associate Javelin, he was now officially ready to leave this place. Everyone's tempers were ready to snap, food was becoming scarce, and all this time nearly alone only increased his guilt, his shame over being unable to protect his friends. When the Sentinels attacked, they had blown through X-Force's headquarters' roof, smashing down through several flights, causing Cannonball to become pinned beneath his own bed. He had watched silently, unable to extricate himself, as his teammates, his companions for months, for years, were shot down before his eyes. The only way he had managed to survive was to put on a psychic scrambler that was one of the many marvels their former leader Pete Wisdom had left behind for his soldiers. It managed to mask his presence from the robotic killers,  
but it didn't manage to wipe away the horrible screams, or the enduring pain that continued after it. Although Magneto and Cable had rescued him, a large part of him was still back in San Francisco, a part of him he wasn't sure he could ever get back again. He got up from a moss-covered bench in the antechamber inside the main entrance of the temple, and stepped out into the glaring sunlight that dappled his surroundings as it passed through the tangled web of leaves above his head. Then, he noticed a disturbance in the massive trees, and a small, familiar craft began to land, spewing exhaust fumes in its wake. Almost immediately after landing, Cable jumped out of the back of the ship and motioned Sam over. His hopes raised at the sight of his old mentor imbued him with renewed energy, and he ran to greet him. "Cable! What took you?" The future warrior rubbed sweat and grime from his brow. "A lot of things, Sam, not the least of which was the death of Magneto, and several  
huge transports of refugees to our Arctic facility. Which leads to my next mission. Are you up for joining me?" "What is it?" Sam asked, genuinely curious. "Genesis and the others are obviously anxious to expand, and with good reason. They want a scouting team to check out some possible locations in the Savage Land." "The Savage Land? Of course! It's remote, away from the Sentinels' or Apocalypse's grasp for now. And a perfect hiding place for the mutant refugees!" "So you're willing to come along then?" Cable asked. "When do we leave?"  
In an unknown warehouse, a lone figure appeared in a brilliant flash of light. She crept stealthily until she reached the rendezvous point they had chosen upon. Exhausted from expending so much energy, Raven Darkholme reverted to her blue-skinned form and entered what had once been the control room of the factory. And he was there, behind the desk, waiting for her. "You have it then?" he questioned, stretching out his hand. "Yes," she answered, "and there will be more. Everything's gone well so far, despite my little Arctic run-in." The man grimaced. "You will certainly have to be more careful this time, won't you, Mystique?" "Of course. You doubt my abilities?" "Raven, I trust you just about as far as I can throw you. But you're of great use to me. And until I don't need you anymore, I will put as much of my faith in you as I can. Mystique smirked and replied sardonically, "Funny, isn't it. As if I can really trust you." The figure rose as he spoke, "Alliances are usually  
formed under pressing circumstances. At this point I have no choice but to rely on you as my eyes behind enemy lines." "I should feel honored, I suppose," she stated, primly. "If that's all, then I think I should get back. I shouldn't make anyone worry." "No, you shouldn't. We all know what happened the last time you did. Farewell, Mystique." She exited the room, and then returned to her previous location through her teleportation device. The man pulled out a similar mechanism, and as he left he whispered, "And farewell for good once I no longer need you..."  
to be continued... 


End file.
